In order to acquire many types of products, it is often necessary for a potential customer to first provide information to the product provider. This information enables the provider to decide whether or not providing the product to the potential customer is a reasonable business risk. For example, an individual or company who desires to obtain insurance usually must complete a paper application, disclosing the person's name, address, and other information.
Using this information, one or more persons employed by or acting on behalf of the company performs a manual underwriting process, in which the representative makes a decision whether or not to offer the requested insurance to the individual. In some cases, the representative requires the individual to provide additional information or to submit to a vehicle inspection during the underwriting process.
If insurance will be offered, a representative calculates a premium payment, and prepares a quote for the individual's review. If the quote appears accurate and acceptable to the individual, a representative prepares a contract. Once signed, the contract is binding, and coverage will be enforced as of a specified coverage date.
Known on-line quoting tools for insurance products typically require an extensive time commitment on the part of the consumer. Specifically, known systems require the user to review and respond to dozens of questions prior to receiving an estimate of the insurance premium. Such systems make it time consuming for the customer to review a large number of e-commerce sites offering insurance products in order to comparison shop. Thus, there remains a need for a system and method capable of providing an accurate insurance quote without the burdensome and time consuming information gathering required by known systems.